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Thera 1.27: Lomasakangiya
Tipitaka >> Sutta Pitaka >> Khuddaka Nikaya >> Theragatha >> Thera(27):Lomasakangiya Adapted from the Archaic Translation by Mrs. C.A.F. Rhys Davids. Commentary (Atthakatha) By Acariya Dhammapala Note: 'C' in Pali text is pronounced as 'ch' as in 'China'. ---- Chapter I. Single Verses =27. Lomasakangiya= When Kassapa was Buddha, this Monk left the world and followed him. Now after the Lord(Buddha) had preached the Sutta on Happy-Lonely, a certain bhikkhu(monk) talked with Lomasakangiya about it. And our Thera, being unable to explain it, uttered the wish: 'May I in the future become able to teach you the Happy-Lonely!' The other answered: 'May I ask you!' Of these two the former, when our Buddha lived, was reborn at Kapilavatthu, in the house of a Sakiyan (king)rāja. And he was very delicate, and covered with fine hair, and therefore he was called Lomasakangiya.1 The other was reborn at that time among the gods, and named Candana.2 Now when Anuruddha and the other Sākiyan youths left the world(for monkhood), Lomasakangiya would not. Then Candana, to stir him up, came to him and asked concerning the Happy-Lonely. The other knew not what he meant. Then Candana reminded him. So Lomasakangiya went to the Exalted One(Buddha) and asked him if it was true that he had made that resolve in the past. yes, youth,' replied the Exalted One(Buddha); 'and the meaning of it is to be understood in more than fifty points of detail.' Then Lomasakangiya said: 'Therefore, lord, let me be initiated into monkhood.' And the Exalted One(Buddha) sent him to get his parents' permission. He asked his mother, but she feared for his health, saying: 'My dear, you are delicate. How can you leave the world(for monkhood)?' Then Lomasakangiya uttered this verse: ---- 27 Dabbaɱ kusaɱ poṭakilaɱ usīraɱ muñjababbajaɱ|| Urasā panudissāmi vivekamanubrūhayan' ti.|| || ---- 32 27 Dabba and Kusa grass and pricking stems And all that hurts in brush and underwood Forth from my breast I'll push and thrust away, And go where I the growth may cultivate Of heart's detachment, lone and separate.3 ---- Upon that his mother said, 'Well then, my dear, go forth.' And he gained the Lord(Buddha)'s consent to be initiated into monkhood. After doing the preliminary exercises he went to enter the forest. And the bhikkhus(monks) said to him: 'Friend, you are delicate. What can you do here? it is cold in the forest.' But he repeated his verse, and entering the forest, devoted himself to meditation, and soon acquired the six forms of supernormal thought.4 When he won arahantship(enlightenment) he declared aññā(supreme attainment) in the same verse. ---- 1 I.e., downy limbs. Pronounced Lo'māsa Kang'iya. 2 Pronounced Chand'ānā. 3 Cf. XXIII., and see Ps. CLXXIV. The Commentary gives us the previous half of the legend, the latter half of which is told in the Lomasa-kangiya-Sutta of Majjh. (iii. 199). Here Candana is represented as teaching the Sutta in question to the Thera. No less than four Suttas of this Nikaya deal with the little poem called 'Bhaddekaratta,' or 'the happy-lonely one,' giving expositions by the Buddha, by Ānanda, by Kaccana the Great, and by Candana in succession. 4 The powers named Iddhi, the Celestial Ear, Discerning others' thoughts; reminiscence Of former births, and fifth, the Heavenly Eye. Compendium of Philosophy, p. 209. The sixth, extirpation of the Āsavas, is tantamount to arahantship(enlightenment). The six are comprised in the term 'Abhiññā,' and are left untranslated as 'Abhiññā' in the following sayings(gatha). ---- 1.3-727 Commentary on the stanza of =Lomasakaṇgiya Thera= The stanza starting with Dabbaṃkusaṃ constitutes that of the venerable Thera Lomasakaṇgiya. What is the origin? It is said that ninetyone aeons (kappa) ago from now, he saw the Blessed One Vipassī, became pious-minded, offered Him variety of flowers reverentially, was reborn in the divine world on account of that act of merit, and later on again now and then he performed much merit, wandered about his rounds of repeated rebirths in excellent existences (sugati), became a monk in the dispensation of the Blessed One Kassapa and performed his monk’s duties (dhamma). On that occasion also a certain bhikkhu(monk) made discussion with him by way of the discourse (sutta) on a well-spent night (bhaddekaratta), which was taught by the Master for proper practice (paṭipadā) of spending a well-spent night (bhaddekaratta). He was not able to explain it. On not being able to explain it, he made his self-determination (paṇidhāna) thus:– “May I in time to come become capable of speaking to you on a well-spent night (bhaddekaratta).” The other (resolved); “May I be able to ask.” Between these two, the first (i.e. the former) wandered about his rounds of repeated rebirths among divine and human beings for an interim Buddha-period (Buddhantaraṃ) and was reborn in the royal Sākyan family, in Kapilavatthu, at the time of our Blessed One. Because of the state of being delicate hair grew up on the soles of his feet like those of Soṇa. On that account, his name was Lomassakaṇgiya. The other (i.e. the latter) was reborn in the celestial world and was known as Candana. When such Sākyan princes as Anuruddha etc., became monks, Lomasakaṇgiya was not desirous of becoming a monk. Thereupon, in order to make him remorseful the youthful divinity, Candana approached him and asked him about a well-spent night (bhaddekaratti). The other said: “I do not know.” Later (puna), the young divinity urged him thus:– “Then, why did you make a compact thus:– ‘May I speak about a well-spent night (bhaddelarattaṃ); now, however, you do not know even to the extent of the name. The other approached the Blessed One along with him and asked thus: “Venerable Sir! It is said that an agreement had been made by me formerly in this wise: ‘I shall speak about one well-spent night (bhaddekaratti) to this one’” The Blessed One replied thus:– “O son of good family! Yes, this sort of agreement was made by you at the time of the Glorious One Kassapa.” This meaning of that should be understood extensively in the manner as had come in Uparipaṇṇāsa, (the third fifty suttantas of the Majjhimanikāya). Thereupon Lomasakaṇgiya said thus; “Well then, indeed, Venerable Sir! Please make me a monk.” The Blessed One rejected him saying: “Indeed, Tathāgata does not make a son who has not been permitted by his parents a monk.” He went to the presence of his mother and said to her thus:– “O mother! Please allow me to become a monk; I shall become a monk.” On being told by his mother thus:– “My dear son! You are delicate; how will you become monk?” He uttered a stanza starting with “Dabbaṃ kusaṃ poṭakilaṃ” in order to make manifest his own state of being able to bear any trouble. There dabba means:– he said dabba grass; this is said to be also leopard (saddulo). Kusaṃ means kusa grass; this is said to be “kāso (kāsa reed).” Poṭakilaṃ means thorny or thornless journey (gacchaṃ); here, however, only the thorny is meant. Fragrant usīra root and so on should be well-understood. Such grass as dabba etc., such grass as bīraṇa are promoters of pain (dukkha) and makers pf damgerious going to those who tread upon them with their feet; those also urasā panudissāmi I shall remove by means of my bosom (ura). Removing in this manner, bearing up that characteristic (nimitta) pain (dukkha), I shall enter the interior of the bush in the forest region and be able to perform the duties of a monk. He shows thus: ‘who would, however, speak of treading upon with my feet?” Vivekamanubrūhayaṃ means indulging in bodily seclusion, mental seclusion and basic (upadhi) seclusion; indeed, after forsaking crowded society, there is but indulging in bodily seclusion; to one who placs his mind properly in any of the thirty eight sorts of sense-objects (ārammaṇa) for contemplation, there is seclusion of mind; not to one who takes delight in society. To one who is but well-composed, who performs the act of developing clear insight (vipassanā), making a yoking together two kinds of mental exercise, cessation (samatha) and development of spiritual insight (vipassanā), by throwing off depravity of all denominations, there is achievement of basic seclusion (upadhiviveka); but not to one who is not well-composed (asamāhita). Therefore, it has been stated thus:– “Vivekabrūhayaṃ, accordingly in-dulging in bodily seclusion, mental seclusion and basic seclusion.” When told, however, by her son in this manner, the mother gave her approval thus:– “Well then, indeed, dear son! You had better become a monk.” He approached the Blessed One and asked for monkhood. The Master made him a monk. To him who had become monk, and was entering the forest after he had done his preliminary duties (pubbakicca) and taken hold of his mental exrcise (kammaṭṭhāna) the bhikkhus(monks) said thus:– “Friend! You are delicate; how will it be possible for you to live in the forest?” He said that self-same stanza to them also, entered the forest, devoted himself to mental development (bhāvanā), and become an Arahant with six sorts of higher-knowledge but before long. Therefore, it has been stated in the Apadāna:– “I offered reverentially different varieties of flowers to the self- awakened Buddha of golden complexion, worthy of accepting sacred sacrificial offering entering the chariot road. It was ninetyone aeons (kappa) ago that I made reverential offering of flower in particular; I do not dis- tinctly remember any evil existence; this is the fruitful result of reveren- tial offering to Buddha. My depravity had been burnt. … Buddha’s instruction had been carried out. Having, however, attained Arahantship, the Thera recited that self-same stanza in making manifest his Arahantship (aññā). The Commentary on the stanza of the Thera Lomassakaṇgiya is complete. ** ----